A NEW 10-kilometre freeway connecting the Western Ring Road to CityLink and offering a much needed alternative to the congested West Gate Bridge could be prioritised ahead of the proposed Eastern Freeway to CityLink connection.
The Napthine government has confirmed no decision has been made on which section of the east-west road – which totals 18 kilometres – will be built first.
Roads Minister Terry Mulder said the timing of sections would be influenced by a business case now before the government.
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”As the business case will make recommendations on the priority sections for delivery, it is premature to speculate on which sections would be built first and how long they would take to construct,” he said. ”There is no doubt that Melbourne needs an east-west alternative to the M1 corridor, which includes the West Gate Bridge, and that was highlighted recently when a technical issue in the CityLink tunnels brought our city to a standstill.”
More than 160,000 vehicles travel across the West Gate Bridge daily, a number expected to climb to more than 230,000 by 2020.
It had been assumed the state government was committed to building the Eastern Freeway to CityLink section first with Mr Mulder joining federal Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott in September to inspect the Eastern Freeway connection to Hoddle Street.
